Objects in Motion
by DownToTheSea
Summary: A series of oneshots written for my Teslen promptathon on Tumblr. A lot of fluff, some angst, AUs, and historical fic.
1. Just Like Old Times

**A/N: Prompt - "You do realize that if you keep stealing kisses from me I will have to get them back someday. With interest."**

* * *

"You do realize that if you keep stealing kisses from me I will have to get them back someday."

"Mmmm." Nikola dropped his head to kiss her neck, his arm snaking around her waist. "With interest?"

"Most definitely." Helen smirked, leaning back into his arms. There wasn't much room in the cramped back of the van for the kinds of activities this sort of thing usually led up to, plus it would be hell on the equipment if Nikola let his control over his magnetic field slip, but they could at least enjoy a few minutes alone together before one of the kids inevitably interrupted.

"What?" Will's voice crackled over the intercom, thoroughly breaking the mood. Maybe a few minutes had been an overly generous estimate. Nikola swore internally.

Helen cleared her throat, leaning forward again to check the security camera feeds they had hacked into. "Ah, nothing, Will."

"Yeah, just helping you get into character," Nikola said.

There was a long suffering sigh from the other end. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Better than helping my darling Helen catch nasty bad guys and save the world?" He grinned at Helen. "Not at the moment, no."

"You forgot to mention bothering me," Will muttered.

"Yep."

"Nikola," Helen said in a warning tone. "If you wouldn't mind keeping your comments to mission-relevant ones from this point forward…"

"He's being just as irrelevant as I am!" Nikola crossed his arms, pouting.

Helen rolled her eyes, muttering something about children.

"I still don't see why I have to pretend to be _him_ ," Will complained.

"Neither do I," Nikola put in.

Not a peep was heard from Abby, who had been delighted at the idea of playing Helen. "Cool" was the exact word she had used to describe it.

"Because our names carry weight," Helen explained patiently. "With our reputation, your contact should be curious enough to meet with you, which will give me and Nikola a chance to break into his storehouse and see what's there."

It would have been preferable for Nikola to go in with Abby in case any questions were raised about the previous encounter. But Helen needed him with her to crack the security system of the storehouse. Her intelligence said an abnormal trafficking ring of considerable size was based there, having sprung up in the void left by the ghost ship's operation.

"He's coming," Abby hissed.

"Perfect," Helen said. "Remember, just stick to the script. Intimidate him a little, but not enough to make him bolt. Give us time to see what he's up to."

"Drink a lot," Nikola advised Will. "It's in character, plus it'll be easier than trying to imitate my peerless wit."

"Thanks a lot."

"Alright, Nikola, let's go," Helen said, and together they climbed out of the van, slipping around the back of the building they were parked next to. With a wave of his hand, Nikola disabled the security cameras and they advanced to the door. It was open in the space of a few moments.

"Ah, this really brings back memories," he whispered as they headed in. "You, me, breaking and entering… Hey, remember that smuggling ring we cracked in '25? Those flapper dresses you used to wear…"

Helen's lips twitched as she pulled out a stunner.

"I used to try and guess how many weapons you had stashed on you," he reminisced, sighing happily.

"You were always short. Now, would you mind focusing, please?"

"Anything for you." He smirked.

"Thank you. And, Nikola," she added with a mischievous smile, voice quiet enough for the coms not to pick it up. "Maybe when this is over, you can count them, just like the old days. What do you say to that?"

Nikola swallowed. "I'd say, let's hurry up and catch some nasty bad guys."


	2. Sanctuary and Recreation

**A/N: Prompt - "A documentary crew films everybody at the new Sanctuary. Nikola has a lot of fun with it, Helen does not" (based on Parks and Rec and including the dialogue at the very end)**

 **This was kind of a challenge to write! Particularly since so much of the Parks and Rec humor comes from cuts between the main "film" and the "interviews" and it's hard to capture that in writing XD So if something is in italics, it's the interview and the normal text is the rest.**

* * *

"The _Operation Paranormal_ crew?" Helen's voice cut through the low chatter in the Sanctuary entry hall, turning every eye towards her.

"It's not like anyone else was volunteering," Nikola said, shrugging.

"Look, as much as I hate to agree with Tesla, ever…" Will wrinkled his nose. "They're here, aren't they? And you did say you wanted to get documentation of the Sanctuary."

" _Accurate_ documentation." Helen cast a disparaging look over to the camera. "Not the pure fantasy they sell."

"Ooh, pure fantasy?" Nikola murmured.

"Nikola, now is _not_ the time."

"Right."

" _I admit, I was hesitant to allow your crew access to the Sanctuary." Helen's voice was rather brittle. "I'm quite familiar with your show, and I had – and continue to have – serious reservations about its accuracy in portraying abnormals."_

 _Nikola grinned. "We binge-watched all five seasons when I got down here. She hates it, but also kind of loves it, you know? I'm pretty familiar with that."_

"This is the main laboratory," Helen said, waving a hand around the wide room, scattered with desks and various pieces of equipment.

"Quite an upgrade from what we had before, let me tell you," Nikola added, leaning into the camera's line of sight.

"Thank you, Nikola." Helen shot an unimpressed look at the camera. "Now, Henry's personal lab – Henry is our resident technician – is just down here…"

 _Henry gave an embarrassed smile. "Yeah, I fix pretty much anything that goes wrong around here. At least, I did until Tesla showed up. Now, I fix pretty much anything that goes wrong, plus I help him fix the stuff he breaks. Which is a lot." He shrugged. "He can be kinda fun though. Wait, is he going to see this?"_

"And Nikola's laboratory is up here, but I'm afraid it's off limits." Helen smirked.

" _Nikola told me he would rather rot in hell than let you cretins into his laboratory." There was a sparkle of amusement in Helen's eyes. "His words. His love of the show does not extend quite that far, I'm afraid."_

"This level contains offices and staff quarters," Helen continued, leading them through the third-floor corridor. Glittering glass windows lined them on each side, clashing somewhat with the almost Victorian furnishings. It seemed to work for Helen, though. "And a small private kitchen for the big guy."

 _Bigfoot put his book down, shrugging. "I kinda liked the old Sanctuary. Nobody could ever find the kitchen there, except Magnus. More privacy. Now…"_

" _I may...occasionally...go there to make tea for Helen in the mornings." Nikola crossed his arms. "What? She likes breakfast in bed."_

" _Yeah, sometimes I get breakfast in the big guy's kitchen," Henry admitted sheepishly. "I mean, he makes a big batch of homemade waffles every morning. And they're amazing. I think he's got some kind of secret recipe or something."_

" _So," Kate said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial air. "He's got a routine. He always takes afternoon tea to Magnus at four. That's when you sneak in, grab the snacks, and sneak out."_

"The library is down a level. We're still working on cataloging everything we've salvaged from the old Sanctuaries, as well as Praxian records. You'll also find our database there, which includes almost everything we've ever learned about various abnormals in our work."

" _I have so many good memories of the old library." Nikola sighed, his eyes glazing over. "And Helen's office. And the hallway outside Helen's office. And…"_

 _*several minutes later*_

" _Not that I don't love the new place. I mean come on, Helen gave me my own lab, so of course it's great." He waved a hand. "But she really loved that old castle."_

"And this is my office." Helen stopped at a closed door at the end of the hall, apparently content to leave her office's appearance up to the viewers' imaginations.

"This is where the magic happens," Nikola said, popping into the camera field again.

"Nikola," Helen said with restrained patience. "Don't you have work to be getting on with?"

They held each other's eyes for a moment, an unspoken conversation passing between them. Helen raised her eyebrow with a half-smile, and Nikola shrugged. "Sure, I guess I can go work on the weather control system."

"By all means."

"See you tonight," he said, winking, and left.

" _Respectfully," Helen said, not sounding very respectful, "I fail to see what my relationship with any of my staff has to do with this documentary."_

" _I don't know…" Henry trailed off. "I know you guys like to go for the interpersonal angle – I mean, half the people watching Operation Paranormal only watch because they ship Steven and Michael, right?" He blinked. "Uh…"_

" _The big guy has a giant fanfic in progress," Kate said, grinning. "He lets me read it sometimes. I'm, like, 90% sure Tesla is his beta reader."_

" _Appallingly improper usage of semicolons." Nikola grimaced._

" _It's kinda weird to talk about Magnus and Tesla though," Henry said. "Watching them together is like… seeing your parents make out in front of you or something."_

" _Very well," Helen said frostily. "If you must know, yes, Nikola and I are together. But it's hardly common knowledge, and I would appreciate it if you didn't pass it along to anyone." Her tone left little room for doubt about how much they would regret it if they did._

 _Henry's eyes widened. "Where'd you hear that? No, everybody knows."_

" _Everyone," Will said flatly, pinching his nose._

 _Kate shrugged. "Yeah, we all had it figured from day one. Not to mention…"_

 _Nikola leaned back, a wide grin eclipsing his face. "I kinda told everyone."_

 _Helen's eyebrows lifted. Her face took on a steely expression. "If you'll excuse me," she said, rising from her chair. "We'll resume this tomorrow. Right now, I have a very troublesome vampire to deal with."_


	3. Tesla & Tesla

**A/N: Prompt - Tesla reacting to a Tesla Motors car and this: "The Model S, Model X, and upcoming Model 3 are all part of a quest for the car line to spell SEXY or S3XY upon the release of Tesla's eventual Model Y SUV."**

* * *

"You really need to get a better access point to the surface, you know."

"I'll make a note of it," Helen said sarcastically. "You'll have to forgive me for being motivated by trifling things like keeping hidden from a government that wants to destroy my work."

"Good," Nikola said, ignoring the last part. "The less I have to crawl through this disgusting sewer, the better."

"I'll try not to inflict it on you in the future."

"I don't see why you're dragging me up here anyway. I mean, you know I love spending time with you, but I'm an official Sanctuary staff member now. I have work to do." He gave her an innocent smile and his best responsible look. "Like building a teleporter to the surface, for one thing."

"Nikola, you were drinking wine and watching _Operation Paranormal_."

"Important research," he said without missing a beat. "Getting deep into the minds of creature hunters."

"You were bored," Helen corrected. She cleared her throat. "And I'm giving you a late birthday present, if you must know."

On his actual birthday, Helen had been on a deep undersea exploration, trying to find an escaped psych worm from Hollow Earth. Nikola had reluctantly stayed behind, after holding her tightly for a moment and telling her that he'd better be in the alternate reality this time if it went badly. Thankfully, it hadn't.

"Ooh," Nikola said, brightening a little. "But Helen, my darling, you know I'd _much_ rather celebrate back home… by ourselves… in bed…"

"Patience, Nikola," Helen said, giving him a wink. His grin widened. "I think you'll like this."

Light was growing in front of them, and soon they emerged from the tunnel into an alley next to a building that Helen owned under a false name. (The name, though she would never tell Nikola, was Baumschlager. She had needed something that had never been connected with her, and it was the first thing that popped into her head.)

Helen had the back door key ready, and a few minutes later they were headed into a wide open space that Helen kept Sanctuary vehicles in.

"Alright," Helen said, leading Nikola to the center of the room. "Happy birthday."

His face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"A _Tesla?_ " Nikola rushed over, stroking the car with a happy sigh. "Finally. I've been waiting forever to try one of these out. Ah, it's nice to be appreciated… _Everything_ should be named after me, don't you think?"

Helen laughed. "I'm afraid it's not just for you, Nikola," she said, sliding past him into the driver's seat.

His eyes went wide. "You're gonna drive around in _my_ car? You're right, this is the best birthday present ever."

"I'm glad you like it." Helen's lips twitched. "I admit, I was a little concerned you might be offended. You know, it's hardly the genuine article."

"Well, of course not," Nikola said. "I could come up with something better in my sleep. But hey, nothing wrong with a little appreciation, a few adoring fans… So tell me, did you get the model S, 3, X, or Y?"

Helen rolled her eyes as he grinned. He knew full well what it was, he just wanted her to say it.

"Ridiculous naming scheme," she said.

"Yeah," he conceded. "But accurate, right?"

Helen leveled a look at him. She wasn't going to take the bait.

"And now wherever you go, you can take me with you," Nikola went on, leaning over to inspect the dashboard. "Electric, sexy… Less huggable, sure, probably a little lacking on the brilliant repartee front, but that'll only be motivation for you to come back."

"Don't worry, Nikola," Helen said, chuckling and pushing him back into his seat. "I already have plenty of motivation to come back."

The smirk dissolved into a warm smile. "In that case, I'm happy to wait."

Helen smiled back. "Now, what say we take it for a spin?"

"Definitely. Hey, Helen, can I name it?"

"No."


	4. Growing Out

**A/N: Prompt - Helen and Nikola + kids**

* * *

"Mum! Dad!"

The piercing voice snapped Nikola right out of the pleasant haze of almost-sleep he'd drifted into, his face nestled comfortably in Helen's neck. Judging from her sharp inhale, Helen had been similarly startled awake. As they sat up groggily, a distraught eleven-year-old bundle of fluffy pajamas and untidy hair cannonballed into their room.

"What is it, Lana?" Helen asked, her voice soothing even though Nikola saw her hand slide under her pillow, where she kept a spare gun.

"It's happening," she wailed, eyes half-closed. "Just like you said." Stifling a sob, she stuck her hand out and opened her eyes, displaying the long claws flicking in and out of her hand, and the pitch-black color of her eyes, rimmed with red.

Nikola's eyes widened and he exchanged a look with Helen. As a half-electromagnetic-vampire, half-human-with-benefits, some of the powers their daughter had inherited had already manifested. She'd been turning lights on with a touch and moving magnetic objects around since the tender age of three, and had already become accustomed to taking the occasional animal plasma supplement.

Now, apparently, her claws were growing out. Nikola's heart went out to her. Even putting the unpleasantness of blood drinking aside, the initial transformation had _not_ been a pleasant experience at Oxford, and he'd been an adult.

"Aww, c'mere," he said, and Lana flew into his arms with vampiric speed and crushed her face against his shoulder, still crying. "Helen, do you remember – "

"I'm on it," she said, already rising, and dropped a kiss on Lana's head as she passed. "Don't worry, darling, stay with your father and I'll get you something for the pain, alright?"

Lana nodded, sniffling, and Helen hurried out of the room.

"Hey, it's ok," Nikola whispered, folding his arms around her. "I know it hurts a lot now, but it won't last long, trust me."

"What if it's different for me?" she asked. "'Cause I'm not a full vampire."

Analyzing a situation and coming up with the worst-case scenario. Yep, she was her father's daughter.

"Neither am I," he told her. "You remember the story I told you, about when your mother and I met the queen of the vampires?"

Lana gave a weak smile. "You said she had a crush on Mum."

"Right. Well, if that little encounter taught me anything, it's that I'm nowhere near a full vampire either, but see?" He let his fangs grow out and his eyes darken, then changed back. "And it didn't hurt at all. So don't worry, 'cause you'll be alright."

"But what if I'm not?" she whispered, voice quavering.

"Then we'll figure something out." He tilted her head up and looked her in the eyes. "Look, nobody knows more about vampires than your mother and me. Plus, you know, we're ridiculously brilliant."

She laughed, hiccuping a little.

Nikola hugged her as tightly as he could without causing her any more pain. "So don't think for a second that we'd ever let anything stand between us and figuring out a way to help you," he said softly.

A relieved sob was his only answer. Lana seemed to relax a little, though she still clung to his arm and his shirt was now very damp.

"Actually, the claws are pretty cool when you get used to them," he told her. "Harder than diamonds."

"Really?" She brightened slightly.

"Yep. Plus they look badass."

She giggled and Nikola smiled. When in doubt, distraction was as good an option as any.

"How do you change back like that?" she asked after a while.

"Well…" He was so used to it now he barely had to think about it. But back when he'd first transformed…

"You know how they conjure Patronuses in Harry Potter? It's kinda like that. You have to concentrate, and think about something that calms you down. Something, or someplace, or – or someone, that makes you feel safe," he said. "Though after a while, you'll be able to change whenever you feel like it, but that's how I started out."

Helen rushed back through the door at that moment, carrying a steaming mug in her hands, and came over to sit next to them.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"A little better," Lana said, then wrinkled her nose at the mug. "What's that?"

"Medicine," Helen said. "It'll make your hands stop hurting, and your headache better. I thought it would go down better in some tea."

"The Magnus way," Nikola said, smirking.

"Precisely." Helen watched as Lana took a sip, still making a face. "Do you think you're up to coming down to the infirmary?"

"Sure," Lana said, taking another sip of tea.

"And when your mum is done taking a look at you, what do you say to watching movies until you feel better?" Nikola added. Helen smiled at him over Lana's head.

Her face lit up. "As many as I want?"

"Sure." Nikola hoped he wasn't going to regret that promise, but on the other hand, if it made her feel better they'd watch every Disney movie that was ever made. "As many as you want."


	5. Discoveries

**A/N: Prompt - "how about a bit of a mystery solving for the kids? And by kids I mean the rest of the team… how did they find out about Teslen being together? Did they notice right away? Did they take too long to notice?"**

* * *

"You too, huh?" Henry looked over as Kate slumped into the room, a rather dazed expression on her face.

"Me too what?" she asked, sinking down into a chair with an air of relief and watching as he and Erika played the new Adjuster game. (It wasn't very good, in Henry's opinion, but he felt a certain sense of obligation to support it.)

"You've got that look on your face," Will said, looking up from his computer in the corner of the room.

"What look?" Kate took a swig of soda.

"The 'I witnessed a particularly gross PDA moment between the doc and Tesla, my mind is scarred for life, and suddenly I'm rethinking every interaction they've had over the last six months' look?" Henry suggested.

"Oh yeah. That look." Kate gazed off into the middle distance. "Remind me never to go into the big guy's kitchen when I hear them in there."

"Do I even wanna know?" Henry asked, cringing.

"What are they doing?" Bigfoot asked, appearing in the doorway with a book in his hand. "I've got a batch of sourdough starter in there on the counter..."

"Don't worry, they're not messing with your dough." Kate raised a hand in a placating gesture. "They're not even doing anything mind-scarring. They're just… They're acting like teenagers. I think they were throwing food at each other."

Glancing around the room, Henry knew that there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Tesla started it.

"And they're _laughing_. I mean, I know a lot's been going on while I'm gone, but them getting together…"

She shrugged, and Henry sympathized. It was difficult to put into words how weird it was to see the two of them as a couple.

Bigfoot shrugged, making his way over to an old armchair and settling down with his book.

Henry gave Kate a look. "Trust me, it could have been worse," he told her. He was never, ever going into Tesla's lab without knocking again. _Ever._

Erika laughed beside him. "I have to admit, I don't understand why you all find them being together so shocking. He _can_ be quite annoying – "

"Understatement of the year," Will interrupted.

" – but they've known each other for longer than any of us have been alive. I can't even begin to imagine what that's like," she said thoughtfully. "They clearly care a great deal about each other, and from what you've told me, they've been flirting non-stop for the past several years."

"Yeah, I guess so," Henry said. Sure, Magnus liked having Tesla around full-time, and it was nice to see her happy about it. And Tesla himself wasn't that bad, once you got used to him. But it was still awkward to watch them being _together_. It was like they were making up for lost time by flirting up a storm and generally being as embarrassing as inhumanly possible.

He voiced this, and Will gave a sympathetic groan.

"Oh, tell me about awkward," he said. "At least you guys all found out by yourselves. Magnus came into my office and _told me_ , 'so as to maintain transparency and help her avoid possible conflicts of interest.' She was so stiff, she _clearly_ did not want to be having that conversation with me. So who even knows what was going on there."

"Sanctuary charter," Bigfoot said unexpectedly, putting aside his book and pushing his glasses down. "The head and second-in-command of the Sanctuary have to disclose to the other if they're in a relationship with anyone on staff."

Everyone turned around to stare at him. Henry barely remembered to pause the Adjuster.

He shrugged. "It's mostly to avoid anything going wrong in the field."

"Oh, I got it," Kate said. "Like, if she refused to send Tesla off to do something dangerous even though he was the best qualified, stuff like that?"

He nodded.

Kate chortled. "Man, that thing always comes back to bite her, doesn't it?"

"Should probably read it sometime," Bigfoot pointed out.

"Not me," she said, grinning. "I'm officially retired, remember?"

"So what about you?" Will asked, probably to avoid thinking about reading the Sanctuary charter himself. "How'd you find out, big guy?"

"Soon as I got down here. You could tell just from the way they were acting around one another."

"As soon as you got down here?" Will repeated. "That was over a year ago."

"Whoa, are you telling me they actually kept it a secret that long?" Henry asked.

"You do realize," Erika put in. "That means she didn't tell you as soon as it happened, Will."

"I bet she wasn't sure if it was gonna last," Kate said. "I get the feeling that they might have been kinda on-and-off in the past."

"Which means now she is," Will said glumly. "Great. Tesla around long-term. At least, long enough for him to be a pain in the ass about it."

"Did I hear my name mentioned?" Nikola popped into the room with a wide grin.

Henry groaned. Nikola never passed up an opportunity to remind everyone what amazing vampire senses he had, which meant…

"I'm glad you're all so confident in the strength of my relationship with Helen," he said, grinning even wider. "It gives us both such great joy that you're all supportive – "

"Out, Tesla," Will said, gritting his teeth.

"Normally I'd argue with you, but you're boring and Helen is waiting for me in her office, so you win this one, protege." Eyes sparkling, Nikola ducked out of the living room, calling back as he went.

"I'll make sure to pass along your well-wishes to Helen."

Multiple voices spoke up in unison.

"I'm gonna kill him."


	6. Online

**A/N: Prompt - "Are you sure that goes inside there?"**

* * *

"Are you sure that goes inside there?"

Nikola gave her a slow grin. "Positive, my dear."

There was a glint of mischief in Helen's eyes. "Then, by all means." She slid her hand over his.

"Gently," Nikola murmured.

"That's not what you usually say," Helen whispered with a wicked grin.

"Why Helen, darling, I'm shocked. And in front of the children, too..." He leaned over, pressing their bodies closer together.

Four groans sounded simultaneously from behind them.

"Could you guys, please, just...whatever you're doing, please stop," Will said, his hand firmly planted over his eyes, pushing his glasses up his forehead.

"Uhhh, ok," Kate looked half amused, half as if she were regretting stopping by for a visit today. She stuck her hand out at Bigfoot. "At least you owe me fifteen bucks now."

He gave a wordless grunt and reached into his pocket.

"Oh God, this is like last week all over again," Henry muttered.

Nikola didn't see what had been so terrible about last week. Sure, it had been unfortunate that Wolf-Boy walked in on him and Helen in her office testing out her brand-new vampire-proof restraints, but they had been motivated purely by concern for the Sanctuary's safety. As much time traveling and discovering of lost ruins went on around this place, you never knew when you were going to need them.

Still, it had been an unwanted interruption. Next time, he would just remember to lock the door.

"Relax, kiddies," he said lazily. "We'll save the really fun stuff for later."

Helen's lips twitched. "Nikola, I promised the residents main power would only be down for a few minutes while we made the switch. If you're ready…?"

"For you, always," he told her, smirking, and she rolled her eyes.

Together, they slotted the last of the new Praxian power sources into the generator, and Helen went over to the control panel, tapping away at the screen. Nikola leaned against the generator, humming contentedly in tune with it. He could feel the massive amount of energy contained within, just waiting to escape.

It was intoxicating. Almost as intoxicating as Helen in a thigh holster, which luckily she was wearing at the moment. In Nikola's book, that made it a good day.

"It's going online," Helen called. "Everything alright?"

"A-ok here, doc," Henry said.

"Perfect," Nikola told her.

The lights flickered, then with a hum, the generator kicked on.

"Good work, everyone," Helen said as scattered congratulations and cheers (mostly from Henry) broke out. She walked over to Nikola, giving him a nod.

"Thank you, Nikola. I'm sure the residents will be very grateful for all your work on this."

He grinned again. "Well, you know me. Always happy to help the residents."

Helen pursed her lips, looking amused. "Indeed."

The door slammed shut and they looked around.

"Oh dear," Nikola said. "We seem to have been abandoned."

"I can hardly blame them."

"Yeah, I suppose watching over this thing for a few hours to make sure it doesn't blow up _is_ going to be a pretty long, arduous task."

"I suppose so." Helen laughed, her arms winding around his neck.

"Unless you can think of any way we could pass the time?" Nikola gave her his very best innocent look.

"I might have a few ideas. But Nikola…"

"Yes, my dear?"

"Remember to lock the door this time."


	7. A Great Deal of Tea

**A/N: Prompt - Helen calling Nikola "Niko"**

* * *

Nikola had never been happier to see the inside of the Sanctuary. After three weeks – three _weeks_ – spent in the company of _Wilhelm_ , of all people, tracking down electrical abnormals on the east coast, he was sure that if they hadn't finished up when they did, Helen might not have had a second in command any longer.

As it was, Will's fervent "Thank God" as he made a beeline away from Nikola towards his quarters bothered Nikola not in the slightest. Good riddance. It was late and Helen would likely be in bed reading, so he was heading straight to her as soon as he checked up on a few rather sensitive projects he'd had going in his lab. Helen might be less amenable to snuggling if he accidentally blew something up first.

As much as he loathed one-on-one time with Will, he couldn't really blame Helen. He'd been the logical choice for this mission, since no one else shared his electrical abilities. Ordinarily, she would have come with him, but Sally had caught a nasty bug that was going around the water-dwellers, and Helen had been so worried about her lack of immunity to Hollow Earth viruses that she had wanted to monitor her condition herself.

Helen could never ignore anyone who needed her help; it was a part of who she was, and Nikola loved her for it. But it hadn't made him miss her any less.

Everything in his lab checked out, and Nikola proceeded to their bedroom. As soon as he opened the door, he was tackled by a forceful, determined blur of black leather.

" _Nikola_!"

Even gasping as all the air was squeezed out of his lungs, Nikola recognized that voice.

"Helen?" he managed. "Are you alright?"

Helen stepped back and surveyed him with bright eyes, looking unsteady. "I am quite – quite alright, my dear," she told him in a very formal voice which was slightly ruined by laughter bubbling up every two seconds. "And the Sanctuary is – " she hiccuped " – running perfectly smoothly. Yes, perfectly. Which as you know is a rare occurrence."

"But you! You have been gone far, far too long, Nikola." She grabbed his shoulder, though Nikola wasn't sure if it was because she'd missed him or because she was about to fall over.

His jaw might have been on the floor, but he was in too severe a state of shock to notice. "Helen, what the hell…? Are you – are you drunk? I thought that was my thing."

"Very," Helen told him, swaying. "And it's all your fault."

"Why?"

"I found a bottle on your desk, and since you said you brought one up from the cellar right before you left, I drank a glass, and five minutes later I knocked over my chair and broke our window. I'll replace it," she added as Nikola processed this, his mouth still open.

Realization struck. He'd left the wine he'd gotten from the cellar in the main lab, not on his desk. Instead of that, she must have found the bottle he occasionally brewed up of the alcoholic concoction that could get a vampire drunk. He was kinda surprised she was even standing – that stuff was _strong_.

Though it didn't look like she'd be standing for very much longer. He caught her arms, holding her upright.

"Sorry, Helen," he said, wincing. In retrospect, he probably should have labeled it or something.

Helen apparently found his attempt at an apology highly amusing, continuing to laugh as she leaned against him. "I'm docking your pay," she informed him.

"Ok," Nikola said, nodding and attempting to ground himself in the middle of this bizarre, turned-around scenario. What would Helen do?

"'S all your fault," she told him, snuggling against his shoulder.

"So I've heard. Alright, how about a nice hot cup of tea, and some sleep?" he coaxed.

Helen brightened even more at the mention of tea. "Tea," she agreed emphatically, nodding her head. "A very – " she hiccuped again "– great deal of tea."

"Tea it is," he said, and tucked his arm around her, gently pulling her out of the room.

As they walked, Helen reached up, tangling her fingers in Nikola's hair and playing with it, a delighted expression on her face.

"Fascinating," she murmured.

Nikola couldn't refrain from grinning. "I _knew_ you liked my hair."

"Not a word to anyone, my dear," she warned.

"I won't tell a soul," he promised. "So, how is the Sanctuary? Sally feeling better?"

"Oh yes, she's doing wonderfully. We're all wonderful; how are you?"

"I'm back home with you, how could I be better?" Nikola turned a dazzling smile on Helen, before she twisted his hair around her hand. "Ow."

"You're quite ridiculous," she told him, returning his smile.

"Perceptive as always, even when hammered."

* * *

A few hot cups of tea did barely anything to sober Helen up, and Nikola had to curse his past self for brewing up such a potent drink. Still, she seemed to enjoy the tea, or at least the parts of it that made it into her mouth instead of being spilled on Nikola's jacket.

He took her back to their room afterwards, grateful that they avoided the kids on their way there. Helen would be mortified tomorrow if she learned she had run into any subordinates in her current state.

He had to detach her from his hair again as he eased her into bed, sitting next to her and attempting to get her boots off.

"I wish I could tell you you'll feel better tomorrow," he said as she hummed a song off-key. "But considering I had the hangover from hell, I can only imagine it won't be a lot of fun for you."

"Thank you, Nikola," she mumbled. Even drunk, she was sarcastic. No wonder Nikola loved her so much.

"Don't worry, I'll come up with a suitable penance tomorrow. I'm thinking lots of tea, breakfast in bed, maybe a massage…"

"Very mature, Nik – Nikola." She stumbled over his name and started laughing again as she repeated it. "Nikola...Nik...Niko...Nikola...Niko...Nikola…"

"Oh dear God." He started laughing too. "How many times would you shoot me if I recorded you right now?"

"A great many."

"Even more reason." He grinned at her.

"You know, I have always thought," she said, in a very solemn tone, "that your dimples are quite adorable, Nikola."

Nikola felt his face go blank. "W-what?"

Helen smirked. "If you tell anyone, I _will_ be forced to kill you."

"Right, right, but can we go back to the part where you called me adorable?"

"Shut up and come to bed, Niko."

"With pleasure."


	8. 1955

**A/N: Prompt - Nikola has a daughter who is hurt and goes to Helen and this is the first time she meets the child**

* * *

Four years may not have seemed a short amount of time to most people, but to Helen it felt like only a few weeks had passed since Bigfoot had come to the Sanctuary and entered her employ. It was on nights like tonight that she was especially grateful to have him around.

She might never have heard the doorbell over the downpour of rain lashing the Sanctuary roof and windows, but he had, and came into her study to let her know there was someone outside.

"Of course," Helen said, rising and following him into the entry hall. "Let them in, by all means." Tonight wasn't a night for anyone, abnormal or not, to be left out in the cold.

The door opened towards Helen, and she hurried forward, circling around Bigfoot to get a look at the visitor. When she did, she felt herself freeze mid-motion.

Nikola Tesla stood on her doorstep, and when his blue eyes connected with hers, Helen felt rather as if someone had turned the gravity off in the Sanctuary. He was dripping from the rain, but apart from that was utterly unchanged since the day they'd said goodbye ten years ago.

Which was to be expected, since he was, after all, an ageless vampire. But after ten years without a word from him, Helen had never expected him to just show up like this out of the blue. Though in retrospect, it _was_ Nikola ﹘ he never did anything the expected way.

"Nikola," was all she could think to say.

"Helen," he answered softly.

They hadn't seen each other since the day the war ended. After they'd parted, Helen had thought of a million things she had forgotten to tell him, and now she couldn't summon a single one to her lips.

In his arms was cradled a young girl of around seven or eight, clearly an abnormal of some kind: Helen could see sharp greenish claws biting into his arm where she clutched it unconsciously, and a faint set of gills on her neck. She was clearly in pain, and with a sick feeling, Helen noticed a smear of blood on Nikola's sleeve.

Beside her, Bigfoot was eyeing him with suspicion, poised rather protectively.

"It's alright," she told him, still staring at Nikola. "He's a friend. A very old friend." And right now, he was in need of her help.

"Come in," she said.

Letting out an unconvinced grunt, Bigfoot stepped aside and let Nikola into the Sanctuary.

"She's hurt," Nikola said with his usual disregard for preamble. "I've done what I can, but you know I was never the medical expert."

"This way," Helen said, indicating the hallway that led to the infirmary. She peered at the young girl as they hurried down it. "Do you know what species she is?"

"No," Nikola admitted, and Helen caught a brief glimpse of her old familiar Nikola, frustrated at not knowing something he thought he should have been able to find out. "She never talks about her family. I think she's at least part mermaid though."

"Hmm. How was she injured?"

"What do you think?" Nikola said bitterly. "Humans and their ridiculous hatred for anyone who isn't like them."

Helen wasn't sure what Bigfoot's reaction was, but she could imagine it. She closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Nikola sighed. "Can you help her?" Underneath the surface, he looked truly frightened, and Helen reached a hand out to touch his shoulder before she could stop herself.

"I'll do my best," she promised. "Do you mind if I ask ﹘ "

"She's my daughter," Nikola said before she could finish.

Gravity returned, leaving Helen feeling like she'd just walked straight into a stone wall. She had expected Nikola to move on eventually, but… Then, considering the situation, she realized her first impulse was almost certainly wrong.

"Not biologically," he added, and Helen was certain he'd paused just to gauge her reaction. "You know you're the only one for me, my dear."

For a moment they were back in the Egyptian desert, Nikola with a huge grin on his face, flirting with her as she rolled her eyes fondly and elbowed him in the ribs before pulling him along to the digsite.

Then it passed, and they both returned to the present. The little reminiscent smile on Nikola's face crumpled as he looked down at the girl.

"I was down by the docks here in town a couple years ago, trying to find out whether an ancient vampire artifact had passed through here. I practically tripped over her on my way back." Nikola sighed. "She said her family was gone, and she looked so hungry…"

Helen couldn't help giving him a slight smile. Nikola had always had a softer heart than he liked to let on.

"So I let her stay with me, run a few errands sometimes, and…"

"Adopted her?"

Nikola shrugged. "She didn't have anyone else."

"Of course," Helen said, knowing that Nikola would never admit to her that he actually liked having the girl around. "Don't worry, Nikola. I'll take good care of her."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Helen."

"Don't mention it. I look forward to meeting her. I can only imagine what any child you've had a hand in raising will be like."

Nikola laughed. Listening to his familiar voice, Helen hadn't realized how much she missed him until tonight.

It was unlikely that he would stay long, but for now, she would let herself drink in the sound of his laughter.


	9. Queen of the Vampires

**A/N: For the prompt - Teslen + royalty AU**

* * *

Helen's hand closed around her scepter. It was all she could do to keep her long claws from clicking together, but she was doing a much better job of holding herself together than most of her court. Casting her gaze around the high-ceilinged stone room, she saw few calm expressions. Most of her advisors were clustered in small, tense knots, deep in whispered conversation.

Helen could have listened in if she had wanted to, but right now, she wasn't in the mood to hear about how poorly this could end. She had done what no one else had ever been able to do: acting in conjunction with the Praxian leader Ranna Seneschal, she had called a cease fire. For the first time in centuries, their two sides would meet peacefully to discuss an end of this endless war.

Helen trusted Ranna, but there were other factions at work within the Praxian forces that she wasn't so sure about; there were vampires who might pose a threat as well. Lately, she had heard some troubling rumors about a few of the more powerful families…

This might be their only chance at peace. Helen couldn't allow it to fail.

Her hand gripped tighter, her claws nicking her skin. It healed instantly, and with relief Helen saw that only one person had noticed the brief flash of pain across her face.

He had noticed it because he'd been watching her like a hawk as soon as she had entered the room, striding past her waiting court in a swirl of red and black before seating herself on the throne.

Before this, Nikola had been the only person in the room who didn't look nervous. Optimism wasn't in his nature, so Helen could only assume it was blind faith in her that allowed him to relax when no one else did. Now, though, he shot her a worried look, waiting until she had reassured him with a nod to ease back into his seat by the window. His ever-present glass of wine reappeared in his hand.

She wasn't quite sure what made her do it; perhaps it was the need for a reassuring voice to break the heavy cloud of apprehension that lay over her. Unclamping her hand from her scepter, she raised it and beckoned him over with a crook of a her clawed finger.

His eyebrows went up, but he rose at once. Helen had to stifle a laugh as he nearly tripped during a particularly dramatic flourish; Nikola was always attempting to emulate what he called the "deadly grace" of his fellow vampires, often with less than spectacular results. Clearing his throat and glancing around to make sure no one had noticed, Nikola swept theatrically toward the throne.

"My queen," he murmured, sinking into a bow so low his eternally unruly hair fell onto his forehead. He had worn it like that for as long as Helen had known him, ever since they were young rascals wreaking havoc in the halls of the royal palace, hundreds of years ago.

They had discovered in each other a mutual love of science and adventure, and managed to get into all sorts of trouble together. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, they had become the closest of friends, and he was now one of the few people Helen trusted implicitly.

It was Nikola who had come running to find her when her father had been killed, wild-eyed with fear at the thought of the assassins targeting her as well. They had – but they had underestimated her, and Helen had dispatched them before he arrived. After she had assured him she was alright, Nikola had reluctantly broken the news of her father's death to her.

Her coronation had taken place almost immediately afterwards – no one wanted to take the chance of another attack before the throne was officially passed on – but there had been a few minutes before the royal guard found her and hurried her away from Nikola. In those few minutes, his arms had been gentle around her as she allowed herself the indulgence of grief.

A scant few years later he had become her minister of science, and Helen had enlisted him in her efforts to put a final end to the war with the Praxians. Now, the day was almost upon them. At least Helen hoped it was.

"The capitol's defenses," she said quietly. "Are they holding?" If anyone should attempt an attack on the Praxians, Helen wanted to be prepared for it.

"Even better than expected, Your Majesty." His voice held just a tinge of smug satisfaction. Either it was pride in his work, or he was recalling the circumstances he had last called her that. (Last night, he had attempted with some success to distract her from brooding over the upcoming negotiations.) Since it was Nikola, it could have been both.

There were no more questions she could ask him that could possibly be relevant to the situation at hand, but he lingered, straightening from his bow with a curious look.

Their relationship was an open secret, but propriety had to be observed in the court, particularly on a day like today. A more official union would spare Helen the inconvenience of inventing an excuse any time she wanted to talk to him, but she had refused when he asked, and he hadn't brought it up since.

Whatever Nikola might believe, there had only been one reason behind Helen's refusal: by giving him such a powerful claim on the throne should anything happen to her, she painted a target on his head that any noble family within a thousand miles could hardly fail to notice.

Unattached to her, he was only an annoyance, an influential member of her court they couldn't control; as her consort, he was a direct threat to their acquisition of the throne. Helen had already lost enough to the machinations of vampiric aristocrats – she wouldn't lose Nikola too. So it was necessary to keep even him, her dearest friend, at a distance sometimes.

Besides, there wasn't a great deal they could say out loud that would match the look he was giving her now, eyes soft with all the tenderness neither one of them could ever put into words.

Still he lingered. Knowing him as well as she did, he was about to make up a thin excuse to get her alone for a few minutes.

"My queen," he began, right on cue, but before he could get any further, the huge doors swung open, and the Praxian delegation swept through.

They were obviously on the defensive – Helen saw half a dozen guards armed with the latest weaponry against her kind – but there was no sign of hostility in Ranna's bearing.

Nikola gave her a nod, accompanied by a look that said he was grateful she was taking care of the dealing with people. Helen nodded back, rose, and went to meet the delegation.

* * *

"Well," Nikola said cheerfully. "That went well."

Helen gave him a flat look.

He shrugged. "No one died."

They were in a less populated section of the palace, used mainly for storage. Nikola's laboratory was here, because he liked the solitude and Helen liked having his reckless experiments well away from the general populace.

Dangerous as it could be, Helen had spent many a peaceful hour there. But it wasn't there that she had found herself wandering towards after the first meeting with the delegation had concluded.

This was an adjacent room, containing the latest advancements in stasis technology, and Helen was standing by one of the bright violet crystal chambers that could sustain a vampire indefinitely.

It would be her turn soon. She needed to get through the peace talks first, and, assuming they _did_ get through the peace talks, hold on for a few years to make sure things were going as smoothly as possible. Then it would be time to pass on the crown.

James, a dear friend from another of the noble families, had just the right amount of cunning to hold onto the throne, and was one of the few Helen trusted to carry on her work, but she still hated to leave the job unfinished. It was the only way, through – she had already overstayed her reign, and there were beginnings of rumors she didn't intend to step down. It was an ancient tradition, and if she didn't follow it, she could very well jeopardize everything she was doing now with the Praxians.

Helen shook her head. Now was the time to focus on the peace talks, not future troubles. Despite her response to Nikola, today hadn't gone as badly as she had expected. True, nothing had been accomplished, but it was better than open hostility. Helen had been expecting at least one assassination attempt.

She turned to look at Nikola, who was staring at the chamber with a far-away expression. Helen knew what he was thinking about. It was an argument they'd had several times already; Helen insisted that his scientific expertise would be needed by the next ruler, and Nikola insisted that as a member of her court, he belonged with her in stasis.

It wasn't about his official position and they both knew it, but Nikola refused to admit he simply didn't want to spend a hundred years without her.

"Where's the interface?" she asked, to distract them both.

"At the base. Though it has a shortcut built in," he said, warming to his subject. "All you have to do is touch the crystal to dissolve the stasis."

Helen raised an eyebrow. "What if someone accidentally brushes it?"

"Well, I didn't say it was without flaws."

"And the point of this shortcut is…?"

"It seemed cool at the time?"

She chuckled, and Nikola gave her a smile.

"It's getting late," he said, looking at her sideways. "And we both have a long day tomorrow."

Helen made a non-committal noise. She was too preoccupied right now to sleep. Besides, she and Nikola could easily go days without if necessary. "I believe I got plenty of sleep last night. As you well know," she added with another eyebrow quirk.

"Just doing my part to look after the Queen's health," he said. "All this rising with the sun stuff for our Praxian visitors, you know, just doesn't feel quite right."

"Hmm."

"I'm much more suited to… nocturnal activities." This was added with a wink.

Helen rolled her eyes. An eternity could pass, and Nikola would still be the same. "I don't know why I ever thought appointing you to my court was a good idea."

"Because I'm a genius," he said with a sunny smile.

"Humble, too," she said sarcastically. "Very well, Nikola." She extended a hand and he bent over it, brushing his lips against her fingers. "I suppose you can look after my health for one night."

He smirked. "Always a pleasure to serve my queen."


End file.
